Setting Goals

The best goals are those that contribute to an improvement in work ethic and performance. Goals must be prioritized and realistic and attainable.

Specific goals give something to shoot for and are more challenging than generalized ones. They should be something the athlete can control. If the player wants to play Major League Baseball, he must first set goals to improve his skills and performance, that is NOW. A 16 year old can’t say “ I am going to play Major League” until he has progressed through the learning stages and reached the Minor Leagues. When he has reached the Minor Leagues, he can then reset his goals, to improve his skills to improve so he may reach the Majors.

Attainable. It is great to set high and almighty goals, but it is foolish if they are merely fanciful thinking. Quite often players (leaders & workers) will set unreasonable and unattainable goals in an egotistical attempt to show everyone how great they are. However, when they fail they look at blaming someone else for their failure, but never themselves.

To set goals brings with it a risk of failure, and many people shy away or keep their goals at an artificially low level because of their lack of confidence , and these people usually have trouble accepting failure. Since these goals are easily reached, they will not lead to any dramatic improvement in performance.

Goals must be changeable and adaptable. They need to be re-evaluated and constantly changed to meet the needs arising from time to time.

Goals should be limited in number to avoid losing your way in a maze of ‘fanciful’ goals. Prioritize them in order of importance and in an attainable number.

Make the goals positive nature to want to improve performance.

It is better to have the athlete set their own goals. This list should NOT include pleasing others. Goals set by others are EXPECTATIONS and the athlete cannot control other’s expectations.

GOALS are internal and can be controlled by the individual.

EXPECTATIONS are external and create pressure on the athlete to perform. In time this external force can take charge of the athlete and THEY begin to control the player rather then HE being in control of the situation.

Just as long term goals can serve to motivate the player to better performances, short term goals are also valuable. The foundation of a house must be laid before the bricks and mortar can be started.

Goals are worthless unless there is also a commitment with it. Athletes must commit to themselves rather than to others. To attain a goal requires planning, work and perseverance , and strong discipline to stick to it regardless of setbacks.

Developing a team unity is important factor in team success, and a good leader will always be looking for the chemistry needed to mould a group of athletes into that elusive thing called a team.

There are times when a group will mould well and outperform their opponents. At other times a group of highly skilled teams will have little success.

The reasons may not be easily seen, but the saying “the players do not seem to work well with each other is often touted as an excuse.

Some coaches may have problems developing a good team harmony because they may be confused of what they are looking for or what they are attempting to develop.

Teams come together with a unity of purpose. For older and more mature athletes ‘social’ unity is not as important as the feeling that everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goal. It is a sense of common purpose and unity into the one goal.

If a group is unified in their efforts and goals they do not need a lot of social enticements to be compatible.

Regardless of how hard the coach works at getting every team member to conform to the MAIN goals of the entire group, there will be a few with a selfish or over exaggerated ego which conflict with the rest of the group.

This is not a problem if that group is small and internal The main concern for the coach is to identify those in the MIDDLE and control their direction.

It is almost impossible to get together a team totally dedicated and focused on the one goal, but the higher the percentage, the more chance of success.

Players attitudes are met by needs which often motivate them more than anything else, but it is not really the needs of people that determine attitudes. It is the need to survive, to be wanted, appreciated and to be successful. What decides a players attitude is the importance of relevance that player those needs, and if the player puts more emphasis on a need not considered necessary or important to the rest of the team, a conflict will normally arise.

There are 6 types of plans which may better assist the coach and or player.

STATEGIC

These are plans that determine the future direction and provide guidelines.

LONG TERM

usually over 5 years , revised at least annually or when the situation demands it.

SHORT TERM

usually within 1 year

OPERATIONAL

Specific details of what is to be done and how it is to be achieved to establish the specified guidelines

THESE ARE SUMMARISED AS

Managing & Organising For Goal Achievement

SPECIFIC

for a one off occasion

STANDING

established in accordance with the overall organisations policies and strategies (bylaws and regulations)

OBJECTIVES

are much more specific, providing a measuring stick to measure our performances as we head toward our goals.

TARGETS

are more short term and specific and should be

SPECIFIC

MEASURABLE

ACHIEVABLE

ATTAINABLE

Last Modified on 20/06/2017 15:42

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